Epic adventures anyone

W

williwaw

New member
We've spent a couple weeks on our boat but I know that's nothing compared to what some c-dory adventurers have accomplished. We do get in a groove after a few days but it's still a small space. I often wonder what the limits of endurance are in a small boat if enjoyment and adventure are priorities (as opposed to merely survival :)).

So how long have you spent on your boat? I know Retriever and Hunky Dory have done some mondo trips - are they the kings or are there some others out there that have done similar epic trips? And what have you learned to make a long duration trip more enjoyable?
 
We have done 3 continuous months on three different trips. Two to BC Canada and one to the Florida Keys. Next summer we are going to SE Alaska. Maybe another 3 month trip. Especially if you count the time road tripping to get there and back. We always sleep in the boat. Most nights we are on the hook. Maybe two nights per week in a marina. The TomCat is more roomy and has a bathroom/shower compared to a 22'. We have solar panels, 90 watts, to keep the refridgerator batteries topped off. Also we have 40 gal. of water, 2 X 20 gal tanks. The Wallas stove and the Espar heater are a plus for extended trips in Canada and Alaska. A full camperback enclosure is our latest purchase, for the Alaska trip. A Honda 2000 or 1000 generator is nice for extended trips.
 
There are some folks who are not comfortable with small spaces, and not comfortable with being on a boat--not on land. In comparison the C Dory offers a lot of options. There is trailering, and getting out and stretching the legs--virtually all of the boating is along some shore line. Contrast with long trips at sea, in sail boats in many ways not as big as the C Dory, even though the length might be the same, or slightly longer. I know that lots of folks who cruise in the C Dory like to take hikes or walks--paddle the kayak etc.

I think it is a personal adaption. Listening to Music--now made easy by the portable solid state players and by Sirius radio. Reading--I use a Kindle now--we carried many dozen paper back books, and traded them for others in ports. Along the coasts, there are many books to read on the history, natural history, and ecology of an area--and we love this "homework"--it makes any cruise much more interesting.

The longest I have been at sea in a "small boat" without land, was about 18 days, but it would have been no problem to have extended that much longer. On our larger boats, we spent 4 years basically on the boat. Many times over a year without sleeping elsewhere. In the C Dory 62 days was the longest time we have been continuously on the boat--but part of that time was on traveling on land.

I think for a couple it is important that they are both comfortable in small spaces. They are each others best friends--and the conversation helps to make the small space tolerable. On the other hand, there needs to be the understanding that each person does need their space and time.
 
JoLee & I have never been on a extended cruise in our CD22 or any other adventure in which we were looking forward to its ending. The space & comfort of even the small 22 foot CD is huge in comfort in comparison to many of the other ways of travel to see the places we enjoy most & that to me is the key. The personal enjoyment of the adventure, whether it's the challenge or what one sees & does must out weigh the negatives while on it, because as my friend George Hone will say "a good adventure is apt to make you late for dinner". On many of our cruises & other trips Jolee's health problems, if we had been home would have kept her almost incapacitated, but while on the adventure in a much worse envirement than at home, she seldom will give even a hint of her discomfort. Now, if she is forced to be where she would prefer not to, neither her or I are so stoic.

Jay
 
If the crew is compatable, and interested in seeing new things and is ok with not only small spaces, weather variables, days when the water is not smooth and maintanence issues, long term living aboard can be a joy. A local couple who lived aboard and cruised for some 50 years said " a boat needs to be big enough to have "pout room". If you want to/need to pout go out in the lanai under the camperback. We've been as long as 11 months continuous with road traveling and cruising on winters south. This year we'll only be from March 28 till Dec 31 continuous then we house sit for a while then r&r in Hawaii. Tonight it is pouring rain and wind is 25SE in the left over of Hurricane Ana offshore. It will be a beastly night if one is caught in a house but we are warm and snug with our office size oil radiator heater holding 70F and we've just had steaks off the bbq and nicely steamed veggies for dinner. We're reading books this evening. We are not cruising at the moment but living aboard till after xmas. Making a cd a comfortable home includes insulating all lockers with 1/2 inch foam as well as vee berth sides. A camperback that keeps out 99.9% of rain is a must. A good fridge and battery charger multiple stoves and a bbq. Our splashwell table is a must have for us. A lpg stove lives on it to cook keeping moisture out of the cabin. The potty lives in the cockpit behind a shower curtain a small heater is on in the camperback keeping it tolerable. Carolyn needs all her cooking spices, pots pans, etc. like she had in a house she can bake muffins in the bbq! We have roll down curtains, covers on fore and aft windows and a hanging curtain on the door. Much warmer to keep drafts down. Many folks we meet need more space. When we visit then at home the couch is 30 feet from the kitchen, we find this inconvenient. Space needed is an individual requirement. We find we have all the neccesities and that's it. While we want to trailer this boat works. When we're done trailering, we'll likely go slightly bigger for coastal work. Maybe up to a Nordic Tug 32. We have chores ashore most days just like anyone. Today was ordering disc brakes conversion on the trailer. When we cruise there are chores also. Grocery shop, fill water and lpg, get fuel, maintain the boat, get haircuts wash clothes, visit museums go for a row, walk etc and coffee shops talk to locals go swimming or visit a gym. I mean you run out of time. No way can we cruise for a short few months and feel right. Then there is the next trip to plan!! Next season will find us inland in BC Kootenays lakes. Likely Flathead, Hungry Horse and Ponduray ( can't spell it but we'll go see it)
The rain is drumming the deck at the moment, wind is rising, sheer hell ashore tonight, wee boat is snug. Enjoy

George and Carolyn
 
We've been retired 15 years and most years have spent 3 months or more on the road, away from home either in the boat or a very small "pop" top (6x6') PU-camper. I thought I had a good understanding of what we enjoyed and avoided. This year I had two epiphanys that shook the foundations of my perceived self awareness.

Both my wife and I love wilderness and that brought us together 50 years ago and took up most of our vacation time, both B.C. (before children) and with children. However, I just realized that most of our recent time has been looking at history and visiting small towns and learning about their history, not getting into wilderness. Since I am no longer in the working world, there is not the need to "escape" that we had for many years. Consequently, anchoring out is fun, but at least half the time we want to visit the towns. And that is why so far our best cruise was the Eire Canal and the east coast rivers/ canals.

The 2nd slap in the face took place a few weeks ago in Conover Cove, BC. We got to visiting with the owners of a Nortic Tug 44 who winter in Arizona playing golf and summer on their boat out of Anacortes, WA. It hit me that we are "camping" on our boat, while they are living on theirs. George & Carolyn on Kerri On) are finding ways to make their boat a home and live on it, but Penny and I are only camping and don't try to make it a home, as we know we will be back home soon. That means our whole expectations and plans are different. Neither is right or wrong, but if you are a "camper" as we are, fixing the boat for living changes the experience.

I find that the experiences I have, not the time, determines when I get "tired" and ready to quit, not the length of the trip. Moving every day for 3 weeks or more gets quite tiring. So we "park" for a few days, rest up and are ready to go again. On each trip we had set plans or "goals" and once those goals were met, it was like a switch was thrown in my head. I was tired, and it was time to go home, even when home was 3,000 miles away.

Chuck
 
We spent up to 6 months at a time onboard our CD-25, on land as well as on the water. Some of you know we spent the last 3 summers living onboard in the San Juan Islands while we worked "fun summer jobs." The experiences of living onboard in a marina vs cruising are very different.

When cruising, we found that we were moving every day or two, looking forward to visiting areas we hadn't seen before. Dividing our time between anchoring out and marina stays. "Real life" still goes on while you are cruising, so you have to make time for grocery runs, laundry, maintenance, and having a way to stay in touch with family. A grocery run may mean: getting the dinghy down, finding a place onshore to tie off the dinghy, a walk to the store, schlepping the bags of groceries back to the dinghy (a rolling/folding cart sure helps), loading into the dinghy, back to the boat, loading the groceries into the boat, stowing the dinghy. We used to joke that "every thing you do takes a day: a day to grocery shop, a day to get laundry done, etc.

While cruising, the trailer was the "accessory" that made it all work - we could be in the Florida Keys in the winter, summer in the Pacific Northwest... or the Erie Canal... or cruising different mountain lakes.

It is different from "living onboard," even though you are on the boat every day/night - you are in an "exploring" mode, which makes each day an adventure.

Living on the boat while we worked was a very different experience - that was more about making the small space as accommodating as possible for your extended stay. We didn't feel we were camping, perhaps because we made the boat as home-like as we could: an enclosed head with shower was key for us; having electricity so we could have the conveniences we enjoy at home (satellite TV, microwave, etc). Daily chores like grocery shopping and laundry were a breeze, since it was a short walk up the dock for either.

I had some concerns about living in the marina the first time (mostly having to do with the small space), but it turns out that we both enjoyed that experience. The marina is a community, and the liveaboards watch out for each other. We could walk to work. We had our scooters or the truck to explore. On days off, we could choose to untie from the dock and do some local cruising, or get on the scoots and explore places on land we couldn't easily get to when strictly boat cruising.

While sailing was an an important part of our lives before retiring, the C-Dory was a focal point for over 8 years after retiring. There were places we wanted to go, areas we wanted to cruise, and the trailerability of the boat made that a reality.

For those who want to trailer-cruise, I think the C-Dory is a smart combination of efficiency, affordable, and functional. It is easy to tailor the boat to the way you will use it.

So, why'd you sell it? It wasn't an easy decision, but we are both ready for the next chapter, and for us that means more land traveling for a while. We decided we were done trailering the boat. There will be another boat at some time. No doubt, the "fun summer jobs" driving boats played some part in our decision, too. The jobs have been interesting and rewarding... but driving someone else's boat (as a job) does change your perspective. It's not a bad thing.

Didn't mean to get off on a tangent, but just discussing the adaptablity and use of the C-Dory. We never considered the traveling we did with our C-Dory as "epic"... reserve that for what folks like Jay & Jo-Lee do. "Traveling" takes on a different perspective when you look at what our friends Casey & Mary or George & Carolyn are doing. We had some "things we always wanted to do," and Wild Blue was up to the task. The fact that we were early adopters of data cards and the ability to post almost "as it was happening" played a big part in why our cruising thread here saw so many views.

While we did do what many look forward to - retiring early, selling the house, and traveling with the boat - it isn't for everyone. But, if that is your goal, the C-Dory is up to it... if you are. Not every couple is suited for that much togetherness and the regular "What's next?" that goes with a wandering lifestyle.

C-Dorys are a very special entity in the world of boating.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
We have never had an epic adventure but we do stay on our boat for a month at a time. Almost every winter somewhere in the Florida keys. We travel with a small older dog so we stay in marinas mostly. When the dog stays home we anchor out more. When that dog kicks the bucket I plan on anchoring out a lot more. We call our boat Tiny Town. The first couple days of staying on the boat I try to keep my mouth shut as to not suggest changes in the way my wife does things. I try to go with the flow and always remember if MAMA AIN'T HAPPY NO ONE IS HAPPY. I try to avoid asking her to move or getting in her way. After a couple days things usually calm down. Having a beer or two or wine first thing after docking or anchoring for the night seems to be a winner. We discuss things that happened during day and have some back round music from my IPOD. We always take too many clothes and could feed a third world nation. We carry an internet hot spot to be able to keep in touch should any issues rear their ugly head. It's nice to send pic's and let people know what we are doing and where we are. We stay in campgrounds while traveling to our destination as it's just easier for us than the motel thing. Just pull in and get hooked up and everything you need is right there. No having to carry things anywhere except to the showers in our case anyway.
D.D.
 
We did 60 days on our CD 22 in SE Alaska (plus 4-5 days on the road each way) for our first really long trip. Several shorter ones, like 2-4 weeks on the BC coast and at Lake Powell. It was easy going at Lake Powell, but sometimes more of a challenge staying warm and dry up north. More crowded up north too - with more fishing gear, charts, warm clothes, etc. Thinking hard about what to bring and what to leave home was very helpful. The right rain gear, foot gear, and layered clothing too. Avoid getting your shoes or pants wet - not easy to dry them out.

On our present 26-footer we have cabin heat, warm water, shower, fridge, plenty of storage space, and insulation that prevents condensation on the interior of the hull and cabin. Many 2-3.5 month BC and SE Alaska cruises over the last 16 years, mostly warm and dry.
 
Interesting thread, and I'm sure several folks will benefit.

We're home now, but with the exception of about six weeks (two trips) in Florida earlier this year - 2014 has mostly been a non-boating year for us. That will probably change in 2015.

Our current (very rough) plan is to launch the boat somewhere south of Jacksonville (FL) in about April(?) and cruise 'North. We don't know for how-long, but since we're both very comfortable aboard it'll probably somewhere in the 3-6 month range. We don't know for sure where we'll go, exactly when we'll leave, or exactly how long we'll be aboard -- but we'll figure it out as we go. The Important part will be that we'll be cruising together!

At this point I can't see us (ever) owning a boat that doesn't fit on a trailer.

Some of the cruising amenities and lessons we've learned:
* The WAECO/dometic freezer GREATLY enhances our meal planning (and permits me to have ice cubes for my evening Scotch.
* As an experiment we rigged a 1/8" nylon cord across two of the three bows beneath the camper canvas; now we have our own clothesline. We use it daily.
* Redundancy (within limits) can be very useful. We now use a small Coleman propane burner for routine cooking. It's cheap, fast, convenient, portable (works well in the cokpit or on a dock) and serves as a backup to the Wallas (which will eventually die one of these days). We also like to keep a single burner hotplate on the boat for those time's we're at a marina. We also carry a fan that operates on 12V/110 to enhance ventilation when necessary. When it's cold we use a 110V heater called a "Big Heat." It's easy to use if at a marina.
* The iPad works so well for navigation and other chores we couldn't live without it. We also get good use out of our iPhones, XM radio, and a plethora of various (re)charging wires. ...oh, and don't forget a small inverter.
* Installing a couple of extra 12V sockets in the cockpit has been Very handy.
* LED lights in the cabin help (be sure to get the "warm white" color, not the bluish white version).
* spend some time figuring out how you want the galley layed-out. We probably all take too much in that regard. (DD's comment was right-on.)
* On such a small boat space is at a premium so prior planning will pay (big) dividends.
* We prefer to anchor-out, but will stay at a marina if the situation/locale/price are in alignment. Staying on anchor is actually better if it's warm (with any breeze the boat will weather vane into the breeze and provide some flow-through cooling.
* A nice, stable candle on the dinette can add 'atmosphere! :-)
* Use ActiveCaptain. I say again: USE ACTIVECAPTAIN!!
* Autopilot is Fantastic (and makes displacement cruising much easier).
* I'm sure the 'list is endless!

All this fans my let's-go-Cruising desire!

Best,
Casey&Mary
 
WOW this is a great thread. EPIC, well, for some of us who are tied to that J*& thing, an epic trip might be considerable different. My longest trip to date, 12 nights, 13 days. EPIC, in that it was planned to go with out a cooler, as a trial that worked. May not be for everyone, but I don't do muck in the way of cooking, so it was a fun trial. EPIC in that it was the catalyst to get a full service, AIS transponder as an adjunct to the radar. That decision was based on getting into fag so thick I could not even see the water from my helm seat, for over half an hour. EPIC in that the increase in navigation skill was noticeable in relation to the proportion to the adversity of the condition. Most of the time due to rapid changes through the cruising day.

I admire you who have posted long trips and to remote areas, as well as those who do multiple week or month trips. I'm looking forward to those days.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

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Something just a bit off the wall to maybe help the roominess issue. I've removed my water tank and now use that space which is huge and poorly used for a water tank, now is a big ol' space for clothes and other stuff. I've added electric water pump that attaches to from one to three 5 gallon portable tanks, (depending on how long we'll be away from fresh water), that fit much more efficiently under the cabinets on the starboard side below the sink. It can stay on as it is a demand type water pump with a valve and spigot above the sink. The spigot is a high rise as well so that the sink can actually be used for a quick dish wash and rinse.

Double ditto the comments on don't haul so much stuff. compared to 5 years ago, our experience on the water has decreased the "STUFF" by more than half with no loss of utility and comfort.
 
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